Counter.



K. G. HOLST.

COUNTER.-

APPLICATION FILED MAY's, 1909.

1,007,203 J v Patented Oct. 31, 191 1.

Wz'hzesses: 37 l l3 /nvent0r:

I Karl 615705.96 W 27 036 3 MA ttorn/eis;

KARL G. HOLST, OF HARTFORD, CQNNECTICUT.

COUNTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

Application filed May 6, 1909. Serial No. 494,416.

T 0 all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, KARL G. HoLsT, citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Counters, of

which the following is a specification. This invention relates to counters.

A counter involving my invention may be used with advantage in many difierent connections; for instance for registering the operations of moving parts of different kinds of machinery.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide accurate and easily operable mechanism for resetting the indicating members of the device.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and effective means for driving the counting mechanism.

The invention includes other features of advantage which with the foregoing will be set forth at length in the following description where I shall outline in detail that form of embodiment of the invention which I have selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification.

The novelty of the invention will be in cluded in the drawings succeeding said description. I wish to make it clear at this point that I illustrate and set forth with definiteness one form of embodiment of the invention so that those skilled in the art of counters or registers can practice said invention. I do not of course restrict myself to the showing thus made for many and radical changes may be made within the scope of my invention.

Referring to said drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a register or counter comprising my invention, a portion of one end of the same being broken away. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of said counter as seen from the left in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a central, longitudinal section of the same, the section being on line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a sectional view of one end of said counter, the section being on the line 4- 1 of said Fig, 2. Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive are cross sections on the lines 55, 6-6, 7- 7, and 8-8 respectively, of Fig. 2. Fig. 9 is a sectional view of two of the rings or wheels, a cooperating transmission gear, and the supporting shaft for the latter.

The several views are upon different scales but throughout the same like parts bear similar reference characters.

It is the custom to mount the different parts of a counter or register in a casing or boxing and I may employ any suitable form of easing, the one shown being denoted by 2 and being of substantially cylindrical form. Said casing is shown as having one head 3 integral with the body thereof, the other head 4 being removable and being preferably held in place by a screwthread joint. Said casing has a sight-opening 5 in which is set a piece of glass or other transparent or translucent material 6 and through which the numbers or other symbols on the indicating members of the counter may be read. While said indicating members may be of any suit-able nature I prefer that they be in the form of rings or wheels and there may be any desirable number of said rings or wheels; I have represented four of them they being numbered 7, 8, 9 and 10 commencing with the units wheel or that on the right in Fig. 3. Preferably these rings or wheels 7, 8, 9 and 10 are supported for rotation by a rotary member such as 11 consisting in the present instance of a barrel which although rotative is normally held against rotation and the reason for this will hereinafter appear. The rings 8, 9, and 10 are provided interiorly with annular flanges 12, 13 and 14 respectively and these flanges encircle and turn on the said barrel 11. These flanges are situated between the side edges of the respective rings 8, 9 and 10 and their presence produces rabbets or annular grooves at the sides thereof and the purpose of these rabbets or grooves will hereinafter appear. The units ring 7 is interiorly enlarged as at 15 and this interiorly enlarged portion also encircles and turns upon said barrel. I prefer to dispose between the several rings, and also between ring 10 and a shoulder 2 in the casing 2, washers 16 which frictionally engage the said rings during the resetting operation and effectually prevent relative accidental premature turning movement thereof. Said washers are preferably non-rotative and this function can be secured by disposing diametrically-opposite ears on the several washers in longitudinal grooves in the case, the said ears in each instance being denoted by 17 and the grooves by 18, said grooves or channels 18 being also diametrically opposite.

One end of the barrel 11 is shown as being open, the other end being closed by a cap 19 which is shown as furnished with an inwardly-extending hub 20 disposed between the segmental lugs 21 (see Figs. 1 and extending toward each other interiorly of the barrel near the rear end thereof or that to the left in Fig. 3. The adjacent faces ofthe said lug and hub are shown as flattened. Said lugs present a convenient means for connecting the cap 11 to the barrel 11, screws 21 being shown as passed through said cap and tapped into said lugs. An annular inwardly extending flange 22 closely hugs the barrel. Said cap 19 is therefore a rigid part of the barrel 11 and,

it follows therefore that when said cap is turned a similar function of the barrel follows. The hub 20 is shown as equipped with an outwardly extending hollow stud 23 which projects through a central perforation in the head 3. This stud constitutes a bearing for one end of the driving shaft 24 the other end of said shaft being connected in practice with the machine the operations of which are to be registered. Said shaft near its outer end extends through and is rotatably supported by the disk 25 set in a counterbore in the casing or shell 2 and held in place therein by the removable head 4. It will be observed that the tail end of the shaft 24 extends short of the bottom of the hollow and that the forward end of the barrel 11 also extends short of the cupshaped part 52 (hereinafter described), when the parts are in their normal positions as shown best in Fig. 3 and owing to this fact the barrel 11 can be moved in an endwise direction toward the right in said Fig. 3 or advanced as will hereinafter more particularly appear.

As a means for transferring the effect of one counting wheel to the adjacent counting wheel except the last one any desirable means may be provided although transmission gears as 26, 27 and 28 serve satisfactorily for this purpose. In addition to the three gears between the rings 7, 8 and 9 there is a fourth one denoted by 29 which in operatively associated with the thousands ring 10 although it acts only when the counter is to be set back. While said four gears may be carried in any convenient manner I have shown them as supported for independent rotation, by a shaft 30 sustained at its ends by the cap 19 and the forwerd end wall of a longitudinal groove or channel 31 extending into the barrel 11 ciroumferentially thereof. This channel is of arch form in cross section it being som'ewhat less than a full circle and its open outer portion or mouth being crossed by the enlargement 15 and the flanges 12, 13, and 14. Said channel presents a convenient compartment for the several transmission gears 26, 27 and 28 and the resetting gear 29. The axes of movement of the several gears are as will be understood located between the periphery of the barrel and the center of motion of the latter although the teeth of said gears extend across the plane of the periphery of said barrel so that said gears can properly cooperate with adjacent counting rings engaging for this purpose teeth on said rings interiorly thereof. The particular construction broadly of said teeth and transmission gears is common in the art of counters and I shall therefore not de scribe in detail those features which are old simply alluding briefly thereto so that the operation of a counter involving my invention can be well understood.

In Fig. 9 I have illustrated the interior of two adjacent counting rings which so far as the transmission mechanism is con cerned might be any two of said rings but which it will be assumed are the tens and hundreds rings 8 and 9, respectively, and it will be further assumed that the gear shown in said View is the transmission gear 27. The ring 8 has in the rabbet on the rear side of the flange 12 two teeth and in the rabbet on the front side of said flange twenty teeth denoted respectively by 31 and 32 while the transmission gear 27 has two independent or separate portions 27 and 27 which in the present case are differently shaped. It might be stated at this point while a transmission gear having three locking teeth is not new with me I make said teeth wider than usual so that they can entirely lock the gear 27 when the latter is shifted for disconnecting the two rings 8 and 9. The ring 9 is constructed exactly like the ring 8. The portion 27 comprises three equi-distantly spaced teeth and serves normally for locking the two rings 8 and 9 and gear 27 until such point as the ring 8 through said gear 27 should turn the ring 9. The portion 27 comprises six equi-distantly spaced teeth which are always in mesh with the twenty teeth of the ring 9 during normal operation and which are adapted to also cooperate with the two teeth of the ring 8 when the latter has practically made one complete turn and'on the completion of said turn the teeth 27 are caused to mesh with the two teeth 31 and one of them is caused to register with the let off or releasing notch or indentation 33 to thereby permit the rotation of the gear 27 one third of a rotation and the turning by said gear 27 of the ring 9 one tenth of a rotation. Two of the teeth 27 normally engage the plain, interior surface of the flange 12.

The construction described is substantially like that found in countersof th e present type. The transmission gear between the units wheel and the tens wheel is exactly the same as that described but the units wheel has only two teeth there being no occasion for the set of twenty teeth as said units wheel is driven through outside power acting through ratchet mechanism. The thousands wheel has the two sets of teeth but the two teeth perform no function as power-transmitting means they coming into play only when the counter is to be reset. The gear 29 while like the other gears in construction does not transmit power as will be obvious. Referring again to Fig. 9 it will be clear that when the gear 27 is moved out of mesh with the teeth 32 the two rings are disconnected and may be turned independently of each other and this unmeshing of said gear is secured in the present case by moving said gear in the direction of its axis of movement which is accomplished preferably by moving the barrel 11 in a forward direction. It will be evident that the transmission gears in addition to being rotatable are also revoluble owing to the fact that their supporting shaft 30 will revolve on the rotation of said barrel. The barrel as stated is nor mally 'non-rotative, positive means as will hereinafter appear being provided to produce this result. During the normal operation of the counter the parts perform their functions substantially after the manner of this type of counter so that for this purpose it is quite unnecessary to describe the various operations in emcnso. Fig. 3 best shows the parts of the counter when in normal positions. The first transmission gear is in contact with the front end wall of the channel 31 while the resetting gear 29 is in contact with the cap-plate 19 the intermediate gears being in contact by reason of which when the barrel 11 is moved in an endwise direction said gears will all be correspondingly moved, the relation of said being such, however, that they may be freely relatively rotated during the counting or registering operation. It will be assumed at this point that it is desired to reset the counter to Zero. To do this it will be necessary to advance the barrel 11 and then rotate the same and will hereinafter more fully describe how these functions may be secured. When the barrel 11 is thrust forward all the gears are moved to ineffective positions by which I mean positions where they will not transfer the effect of one ring to another although they are still operative to reset the rings and this is the object of thus shifting said gears. When the gears are moved forward the six-teeth portions of the gears 26, 27 and 28 move wholly out of mesh with the twenty-teeth portions of the rings 12. 13 and lat and into the rabbeted portions of the rings 7, 8 and 9 in which the two teeth of the respective rings are located said rabbeted portions being made sufficiently deep as to permit this result. This of course brings the six teeth portions of the first three gears wholly within the rabbets in which the respective two teeth are located while the three-teeth port-ions of said three first gears will lie across the inner, circular surfaces of the enlargement 15 and flanges 12 and 13 and extend beyond the indentations or notches 33. The action of the final gear 29 is practically the same. hen the gears are thus shifted they will of course be positively locked against rotation about the shaft 30 by the flanges 12, 13 and 14 by reason of which when the several gears are revolved by turning the barrel 11 in the manner previously set forth the six-teeth portions of the four gears will, as the said gears revolve with the rotating barrel 11, engage the two-teeth portions of the several rings either in succession or simultaneously this depending upon the positions of the said rings. One complete rotation of the barrel 11 is necessary to reset the rings to zero and in the resetting operation said barrel turns in the direction that the rings do in counting. At the conclusion of the resetting operation the barrel 11 and its adjuncts are retracted so that the gears 26, 27 and 28 can again be put into mesh with the twenty-teeth portions of the rings 8, 9 and 10.

he hollow stud 23 is shown as having a slot 35 in which is pivoted a detent or latch 36 adapted normally to engage a keeper portion or notch 37 exterior-1y of the casing or shell 2 said notch having beveled or sloping side walls. The said latch or detentin the present case is pivoted between its ends and normally its upper arm is engaged by a leaf spring 38 to positively press the effective end of the said detent into the notch 3? whereby accidental movement of the latch or detent will not be possible. hen the said latch or detent is in its normal position as shown in Fig. 3 the barrel 11 will be held against rotation. The latch 36 is so mounted as to be automatically released when the barrel 1.1 is advanced by the stud 23. Said latch can also be lifted out of the notch 37 without moving the barrel forward thereby releasing the barrel so that it can be simply turned which would be necessary when the counter has stopped with the teeth of one or more of the gears 26, 27, 28 and 29 in-the indentations'33. In such a case the barrel must be turned backward a slight distance before it is pushed forward. The latch or detent as a whole may be utilized as a finger-piece to effect the turning and endwise movement of the barrel 11. When said barrel is freed it will be first moved forward its complete extent and afterward turned to set back the counting mechanism. The resetting of the counter is accomplished when the barrel 11 has made one full turn at which time the working end of the latch 36 will be directly opposite the notch 37.

The barrel is then drawn back by an outward pull on the tail or heel of the latch.

The hollow stud 23 is shown as surrounded by a sleeve 39 having at its outer portion a flange 4O riveted or otherwise suitably connected with the integral head 3 of the casing or shell 2. Said sleeve has in addition the beveled head 41 said sleeve being normally straddled by a bowed spring as 42 which normally bears against the rear side of the beveled head 41 and also against the capplate 19 said spring in this manner serving to provide a positive means for preventing end-shake of the barrel 11 or for normally holding the same in its retracted position. The said spring fits in a groove 43 formed conjointly by a rabbet in the cap-plate 19 and the end of the barrel 11 and normally bears against the rear wall of said groove. lVhen the barrel is moved forward in the manner hereinbefore described the spring 42 is carried therewith and across the highest part of the beveled head 41 so that when the motion is completed the spring can press against the forward wall of the groove 43 and thereby exert a sufficient forward positive thrust to the barrel 11 as to effectually press the counting rings together or to such an extent as to prevent accidental movement thereof when they are being reset. When the barrel is drawn back the spring 43 goes therewith.

There are various ways in which the counting mechanism may be driven and I shall now proceed to describe that illustrated. The disk 25 forms a part of the driving mechanism or as might be otherwise stated a bearing or support for certain of the parts of said driving mechanism it being non-rotative and being held substantially or solidly in a rabbet in the casing 2 by the removable head 4. The said disk 25 is shown as having on its inner side the two studs 44 situated at opposite sides of the driving shaft 24 and these studs rotatively support pinions each denoted by 45 which mesh with a driving pinion 46 rigid with said driving shaft and which for simplicity and inexpensiveness is made integral therewith. The driven pinions 45 have on the inner sides thereof studs or pins 47 which fit perforations or openings in slides 47 which are adapt ed to travel in radial diametrically opposite grooves'in the disk 48 which is supported for rocking or oscillatory motion by the shaft 24, said radially movable or slidable blocks 47 being situated on the outer side of said rocking disk 48. It will be clear that by the described construction when the shaft 24 is in motion the disk 48 through the intervening parts is caused to swing back and forth, the parts being so proportioned that the swing of said rocking disk acting through suitable instrumentalities is suflicient to impart first to the units disk one step or a movement equal to the distance be tween two of the circumferential symbols or numbers of said units ring and of course after the units ring has made one complete rotation the tens ring is advanced a similar step. The means for operating the units ring from the rocking disk 48 consists preferably of pawl and ratchet devices, there preferably being two pawls on the said disk 48 and each being denoted by 49 which may consist simply of lengths of flat wire having loops between their ends to pivot on studs or pins as 50 50 on the inner side of said rocking disk 48, said pawls being main tained in their operative positions by the outwardly extending whirls of a spring 51 coiled upon the hub 48 of said disk 48, said whirls bearing against the tails of said pawls. I have shown associated with the units ring 7, a cup-like part or member 52 which may be integral with said ring as shown and the inner surface of the annular portion of which has ratchet-spaces 53 to receive the pawls 49 so that when the said disk 48 is rocked in one direction the ratchet .or cup member 52 is advanced one step and when said disk is rocked in the opposite direction said pawls can enter other ratchet spaces from which it will be clear that said disk 48 and the pawls 49 carried thereby have effective and ineffective strokes in succession. Spring actuated detents 54 supported by pins 55 on the disk 25 prevent retractive movement of the ratchet or cup member 52 by engaging in the ratchetspaces 53 when said ratchet member is at rest. The springs for said detents are denoted by 56 they having coiled bodies fitted around pins 57 on said disk 25 and each having one portion bearing against the tail of a cooperative detent 54 and another portion bearing against a fixed pin 58 on the inner side of said disk 25. There is shown as fastened to the forward and reduced end of the driving shaft 24, a sleeve 59 which is adapted in practice to be connected with the machine the operations of which are to be registered, from which it will be understood that when said sleeve is turned said shaft is also. The said sleeve is shown as provided with an annular flange 60 having a circular race 61 to receive the balls 62 which travel in a race 63 in a ring 64 fitted to a hub 65 extending outwardly from the disk 25. The six teeth portions of the transmission gears have their outer sides beveled to facilitate their entering the twenty teeth portions of the counting rings when the barrel 11 is shifted from the resetting position to the counting position.

As hereinbefore indicated I do not restrict myself to the disclosure hereinbefore made and as shown in the accompanying draw ings. For instance I do not have to duplicate the gears 45, pawls 49 and detents 54 although I prefer for smoothness of operation that said parts be duplicated. There are many other changes that I might make within the spirit of my invention but it is not necessary to refer to these herein as they will be quite evident to those skilled in the art comprising counters and analogous de vices.

What I claim is:

l. A counter comprising a plurality of rings disposed side by side the driving side of each ring having interiorly two teeth and the driven side having interiorly twenty teeth, and gears between the rings having six teeth normally in mesh with said twenty teeth and operable by said two driving teeth said gears also having locking teeth for normally locking the gears and rings against rotation and said gears being movable to carry the six teeth thereof out of mesh with said twenty teeth and being also revoluble whereby when said gears are revolved, when shifted and locked, they will serve to reset said rings.

2. A counter comprising a plurality of counting rings, a rotary barrel inclosed by and supporting the rings, and pinions eccentrically supported. by the barrel inclosed by the rings and adapted to transfer the effect of the rings to each other, said pinions being movable to an ineffective position in the direction of the length of the axis of r0- tation of the barrel, the rings having means to prevent rotation of the pinions when in said inoperative position whereby on the rotation of the barrel the pinions will reset the rings.

3. A counter comprising a rotary barrel movable also in the direction of its axis of rotation, a plurality of counting rings surrounding said barrel, pinions eccentrically and rotatively supported by the barrel and also movable with said barrel when the same is moved in the direction of its axis of rotation, and a driving shaft concentric with the barrel, operatively connected with the units ring.

4. A counter comprising a rotary barrel movable also in the direction of its axis of rotation, a plurality of counting rings surrounding said barrel, pinions eccentrically and rotatively supported by the barrel and also movable with said barrel when the same is moved in the direction of its axis of rotation, and a driving shaft inclosed and supported by the barrel, said driving shaft being operatively connected with the units rin 5. A counter comprising a rotary barrel, movable also in the direction of its axis of rotation, counting rings surrounding the barrel, pinions/rotatively supported by the barrel for transferring the effect of one ring to another, friction disks between the rings, and means for pressing the rings and disks together on the movement of said barrel in the direction of its axis of rotation.

6. A counter comprising a rotary barrel, movable also in the direction of its axis of rotation, a shaft supported eccentrically by the barrel and non-endwise movable with respect thereto, counting rings surrounding the barrel, pinions on said. shaft for transferring the effect of one ring to another, and non-rotative friction disks between the rings, the barrel having means associated therewith for pressing the rings and disks to gether on the movement of said barrel in the direction of its axis of rotation.

7. A counter comprising an oppositely rotative barrel capable also of movement in the direction of its axis of rotation, at plurality of counting rings surrounding the said barrel, rotary pinions for transferring the effect of one ring to another, said pinions being supported eccentrically by said barrel and being bodily movable therewith when said barrel is moved in the direction of its axis of rotation, means for normally preventing mot-ion of the barrel, and driving mechanism, operatively connected with the units ring.

8. A counter comprising a plurality of counting rings, a rotary barrel on which said counting rings are mounted for turning movement said barrel being endwise movable, a shaft supported by said barrel inside of the rings and eccentrically thereof, a plurality of gears supported on said shaft for transferring the effect of one ring to an adjacent ring said gears being immovable longitudinally of said shaft and rotative thereon, said gears on the advance movement of said barrel serving to disconnect adjacent rings and to reset said rings on the turning of the barrel, means for preventing premature movement of said rings on the resetting operation, and a locking device for holding said barrel in proper position and being also operable to permit opposite rotation of said barrel in either of its two positions.

9. A counter comprising a plurality of rotary counting members, a rotary device inclosed by said counting members, a plurality of rotary gears supported by said rotary device eccentrically thereof certain of said gears serving normally to transfer the effect of one counting member to an adjacent counting member said gears. being simultaneously movable in the direction of their axes of mot-ion to disconnect adjacent count ing members said rotary device when turned causing said gears to reset said counting members, and means for preventing premature movement of said counting members during the resetting operation.

10. A counter comprising a plurality of rotary counting members, a rotary endwise movable device inclosed by said counting members, a plurality of rotary gears supported by said rotary, endwise movable device eccentrically thereof certain of said gears serving normally to transfer the effect of one counting member to an adjacent counting member said gears being simultaneously movable in the direction of their axes of motion to disconnect adjacent counting members said rotary device when moved for- Ward and turned serving through said gears to reset said counting members, and means for normally preventing turning movement of said rotary device and releasable to permit turning of said rotary device when in either of its two positions.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

KARL Gr. I-IOLST. Witnesses HEATH SUTHERLAND, F. E.-ANDERsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

